China Glaze Retro Diva Swatches – Part 2
 Strap on your roller skates, put on a little Earth, Wind and Fire and let’s get this party going. We’re wrapping up the 70s themed China Glaze Retro Diva collection with the six warm toned polishes in the group.
Just to recap, the twelve colors in this collection are all shimmers with a slight metallic look. If you missed the first half, check them out HERE. Now let’s get down to it, shall we? |
Part of the reason I swatched these colors second is that even though I consider my hands to have warm toned skin, I find that a lot of colors classified as “warm” don’t work on me. Also, in the bottle I wasn’t like jumping out of my skin to try them. HOWEVER, what I discovered is that there’s quite a few winners lurking behind that glass.
Again, these all apply smooth and well pigmented, requiring only two coats each.
Far Out is a hard shade to describe other than FAB. It’s a caramel brown with a rosy undertone and gold shimmer that combine to create something truly unique. I compared it with VI which is too red/coral and Golden Spurs which is too golden brown. I have nothing like this!
Cruisin’ is a tangerine shimmer and very much my speed. It’s got a burning embers quality that works well for fall but also makes for a great summer pedicure.
Cruisin’ is the one shade I thought for sure I had a dupe of. Looks like I’m wrong. Instead it falls somewhere between OPI Burning Love (All Shook Up collection) and China Glaze Cross Iron 360.
While Free Love has a different finish than that glass flecked polishes, this bold reddish orange shimmer is somewhat of a cross between Orange Marmalade and Orange-Pacific, both must haves for me. 
Street Racing oddly makes me think of crushed under ripe tomatoes, is that weird? It’s got this faded, rusty, not quite red quality that I’m totally digging. Actually of all the shades this one reminds me of corduroys the most as I had a pair almost this exact hue as a kid.
Drive In is a pretty date night red, the color of Red Hot candies with a hint of warmth. 
Thunderbird gives me flashbacks of my mom’s giant 70s era boat. She only had it a short while in my lifespan before getting the monstrosity that was the gold Cadillac Coupe De Ville (yes I said GOLD) but I clearly remember the dark red Ford taking up major real estate in our driveway. This shade perfectly captures that but puts a much more positive connotation on the word Thunderbird. This deep, luscious red is gorgeous though a bit unremarkable save for the name.
The Retro Diva collection will hit shelves in July and can be found at Sally Beauty Supply and online at 8ty8beauty.com, Head2ToeBeauty.com and TransDesign.com.
How are we feeling about Retro Diva on the whole? Which shades are on your must-have list?
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
I love you swatches! I think I will pick up Crusin and Free Love. I liked more the colors in your fist post to these, although these are nice too.
Thanks for sharing!
far out and street racing looks fantastic! i'll definitely check those out
I love Far Out and Street Racing. For some reason, I've been loving reds lately, so I might pick up THunderbird, and I rather like Free Love too. Haha, when I buy these, it'll almost be the whole collection-all but Stroll and Drive In. I haven't decided if I want Cruisin' and Stella yet.
Oh my gosh! I love them *all*! Here is my problem: I fall in love with polishes that I see on ALU's early swatches. Then by the time they are available for purchase, I've lost interest because I want the *next* collection. Case in point: Retro Diva has canceled out my love for Summer Days!
Thanks for the swatches!
I just might not feel all that "groovy" and "far out" about this collection. Maybe I'll have to try out a bottle and buy some bell bottoms to get exicited about it. I'll try to feel the "flower power".
I LOVE the color of Cruisin. It is a such fun summer color with the bright orange and the shimmers. I can already imagine myself sporting the color and laying out on a beach. The rest of the colors are great too, I'm going to check which ones match my skin tone the best. Thanks for the review, it was so helpful with every swatches!
I like the other half of the collection more, but Thunderbird is GORGEOUS (even if its a red, which is generally too "safe" for me). Might have to call off this whole no-buy thing…
I love you swatches!
I love them all!
I'm super disappointed with this whole collection. Why aren't there any mustard yellows, or avocado greens? No grayed out blue? Heck even a minty green would have worked! They could have had SUCH an awesome collection – like my BFF's kitchen when we were kids – and they failed. I'm sad.
I definitely adore this collection, but like you, I don't usually do well with warmer tones.
Stroll, Stella and Let's Groove are going on my "to be ordered" list. Definitely.
Thank gawd there were no avocados, that was the ’60′s people, not the 70′s. Stroll was the winner of this collection for me.